John N. Selvaggio

Biography

Vice President, Safety and SecurityMesa Airlines, Inc.

John Selvaggio currently holds the position of Vice President of Safety and Security. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer (2016-2018), as Mesa increased the fleet size significantly during that time. Prior to the COO role, Selvaggio served as Vice President of Customer Service and Station Operations. Since joining Mesa in March 2014 as Vice President of Planning and Resource Management, he also served as Vice President of DFW Operations. John has more than 35 years of airline industry experience, including 26 years with American Airlines, starting in the finance organization, then moving across the company to senior positions in operations, marketing and planning. In 1988, he was named President of Wings West, American’s California-based American Eagle carrier.

While Assistant Vice President of Strategic Planning in the mid-1980’s, he was responsible for creating and executing AA’s International Plan, as well as the acquisition and integration of Air Cal and American’s creation of wholly-owned subsidiary, American Eagle. Selvaggio left American to become President and CEO of Midway Airlines, moving it from Chicago to Raleigh-Durham. In 1997, after the sale of Midway, he joined US Airways, where he served as Vice President of US Airways Express.

In 1999, Delta recruited Selvaggio as a Senior Vice President to head up its 40,000 employee Airport Customer Service Division, where he spearheaded Delta’s transformation into a high-tech, high-touch airline, and in 2002 was asked to create Delta’s low cost point-to-point carrier, Song. As President and CEO of Song, he built the highly-acclaimed, customer friendly carrier by taking on one airplane a week for 39 consecutive weeks in year one and added 9 more in the following year.

Following Delta’s emergence from bankruptcy in 2007, he was asked to return as President and CEO of Comair, Delta’s Cincinnati-based regional subsidiary, from which he retired in 2009. Prior to joining Mesa, he consulted with existing and startup airlines. Selvaggio graduated from New York’s Fordham University in 1968 with Bachelor of Science Degrees in both Accounting and Philosophy.